# List of Peking University people

This is a list of people associated with Peking University in China. Several notable individuals have been associated with Peking University.

## Faculty

* Chen Duxiu 陈独秀 – dean of letters, a leader of China's New Culture Movement, later co-founder of Chinese Communist Party
* William Empson - British literary scholar
* Fei Xiaotong 费孝通　- researcher of sociology and anthropology; chairman of China Democratic Alliance.
* Gu Hongming 辜鸿铭 – writer, an advocator of traditional Chinese monarchy. Gu preserved his plait even after the overthrow of Qing Dynasty
* He Weifang 贺卫方 – judicial reformist
* Hu Shih 胡适 – philosopher, writer and a leader of China's New Culture Movement
* Vincenz Hundhausen 洪涛生 - professor of German literature and translator of Chinese works into German
* Jian Bozan 翦伯赞 – historian
* Jiang Menglin 蒋梦麟 – a prominent education reformer in China and former President of Peking University and Zhejiang University
* C. S. Kiang, Founding Dean of the College of Environmental Sciences at Peking University
* Li Haopei 李浩培 – jurist, Judge of International Criminal Court
* Li Shizeng, biology faculty; more prominent as anarchist and Guomindang politician.
* Liang Shuming 梁漱溟 – modern neo-Confucianist. Liang was most famous for his critique of Marxist class theory, stating that, despite obvious disparities of wealth, Chinese rural society could not be unambiguously classified along class lines. One and the same family (particularly the large patriarchal lineages found in many regions) would commonly have some members among the "haves" and others among the "have-nots". The class struggle advocated by the Maoists would necessitate kinsmen attacking each other.
* Lin Yutang 林语堂 – writer, inventor of the first Chinese typewriter and a new method of romanizing the Chinese language
* Liu Shipei 刘师培 – historian and philosopher, an advocate of traditional Chinese monarchy
* Lu Xun 鲁迅 – a remarkable writer, an important figure of China's New Culture Movement
* Ma Yinchu 马寅初 – a prominent population economist, whose New Population Theory was criticized by Mao since 1957 for two decades. Having examined trends of the early 1950s, Ma argued that further population growth at such high rates would be detrimental to China's development. Therefore, he advocated government control of fertility. In 1979, the Communist Party formally apologises to Ma, stating that "erroneously criticized one person, population mistakenly increased 300,000,000".
* Qian Mu 钱穆 – historian, philosopher and confucian. One of the founders of New Asia College and Chinese University of Hong Kong.
* Qian Xuantong 钱玄同 – linguist
* Rao Yi 饶毅 – neuroscientist, dean of the School of Life Sciences since 2007
* Bertrand Russell – lecturer in Philosophy (1920-1921)
* Shen Congwen 沈从文 – writer
* Alexander von Staël-Holstein (1918-1937 in Beijing) – lecturer and professor in Indology, Sinology and Phonetics
* Qixiang Sun (孙祁祥) - Associate Dean of Peking University's School of Economics and Chair and C. V. Starr Professor in the Department of Risk Management and Insurance
* Wang Keqin 王克勤 – muckraking journalist and blogger
* Wang Tieya 王铁崖 – jurist, former Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia
* Wang Xiaobo 王小波 – writer
* Ta-You Wu 吴大猷 – the "Father of Chinese Physics". His students include Chen Ning Yang and Tsung-Dao Lee, co-winners of the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1957.
* Xu Beihong 徐悲鴻 – the most famous Chinese artist, dean of Beida School of Arts, President of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and chairman of the Chinese Artists' Association.
* Xiaoyu Lu 吕晓宇 - professor in the School of International Studies
* Yu Dafu 郁达夫 – modern Chinese short story writer and poet, author of Ch'en-lun "Sinking" (1921)
* Luo Niansheng (simplified Chinese: 罗念生; traditional Chinese: 羅念生) - known for translating Ancient Greek literature into Chinese

## Officers and administrators

* Cai Yuanpei 蔡元培 – early University Chancellor
* Chen Duxiu – Peking University dean, co-founder of Chinese Communist Party, 1st general secretary
* Li Dazhao – head librarian, later co-founder of the Chinese Communist Party
* Yan Fu 严复 – early University Chancellor
* Hu Shih - Chancellor (1946-1948)
* Jiang Menglin - president of Peking University

## Alumni
### Writers

* Fan Changjiang – journalist and writer
* Feng Youlan 冯友兰 – philosopher
* David Hawkes - writer and translator
* Dolma Kyab – writer (currently political prisoner)
* Andrew Lau - writer and poet
* Mao Dun 茅盾 - writer and journalist
* Shen Qing 沈清 – Publisher of Rui, monthly magazine of Financial Times
* Qian Xuantong 钱玄同 and Liu Bannong 刘半农 – writers and promotioners of the New Culture Movement
* Lulu Wang - best-selling Dutch-language writer
* Jan Wong – writer (one of the first western students permitted to study since 1949)
* Xu Zhimo 徐志摩 – poet
* Zhang Chengzhi – writer
* Zhu Ziqing 朱自清 – poet
* Wen Yuan-ning faculty and author of Chinese classic 'Imperfect Understanding'
* Gui Minhai - writer and bookseller
* Liu Zhenyun- novelist and screenwriter
* Muyesser Abdul'ehed - Uyghur poet and teacher

### Academics

* Michael Halliday – developed systemic functional grammar
* Tian Gang 田刚 – mathematician
* Tang Tao 汤涛 - mathematician
* Li Yining 厉以宁 – economist
* Tsung-Dao Lee (Li Zhengdao) 李政道 B.S. 1946 – Honorary professor, physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (physics, 1957)
* Jingjing Liang 梁晶晶 B.S. 2001– forest ecologist, founder of Science-i and the Global Forest Biodiversity Initiative, and Perdue University faculty
* Yang Zhenning 杨振宁 B.S. 1942 – Honorary professor (at Tsinghua as well), physicist, Nobel Prize laureate, 1957
* Justin Yifu Lin 林毅夫 – economist (now the chief economist of World Bank)
* Yu Jie – First house church leader to meet an American president (May 2006, meeting George W Bush in the White House)
* Yu Min – physicist, Father of Chinese H-bombs
* Luo Jialun 罗家伦 – leader of the May Fourth Movement, president of Tsinghua University
* Fu Sinian 傅斯年 – educator and linguist; leader of the May Fourth Movement, creators of the Academia Sinica, former president of National Taiwan University
* Gu Jiegang 顾颉刚 – a Chinese historian; the founder of the Skeptical school of early Chinese history, known as yigupai; best known for the seven volume work Gushi Bian (古史辨 "Debates on Ancient History").
* Shang Yue 尚钺 – a Chinese economic historian and an author; best known for his contribution on the idea of sprouts of capitalism
* Ren Jiyu 任继愈 – Chinese historian and philosopher, former director of the National Library.
* Deng Jiaxian 邓稼先 – a nuclear physics expert; a leading organizer and key contributor to the Chinese nuclear weapon programs.
* Qian Sanqiang 钱三强 – a nuclear physicist and education administrator; a leading organizer and key contributor to the Chinese nuclear weapon programs; former president of Zhejiang University
* Zhu Guangya 朱光亚 – a renowned nuclear physicist of China, key contributor to China's "Two Bombs, One Satellite" projects.
* Zhou Guangzhao 周光召 – expert on particle physics, discoverer of PCAC (partial conservation of axial current), an important step toward the understanding of symmetry breaking; former director of the Chinese Nuclear Weapons Research Institute and president of the Academica Sinica.
* Gang Liu 刘刚 - a mathematician and computer scientist.
* Ji Xianlin - linguist, historian, indologist, writer, vice president of Peking University (since 1978)
* Yitang Zhang 张益唐 B.S. 1982, M.S. 1985, mathematician Discovered upper bond of prime numbers as close to 70, 000, 000, and won Ostrowski Prize (2013) Cole Prize (2014) Rolf Schock Prize (2014) MacArthur Fellowship (2014).
* Li Bulou 李步楼 - a translator and philosopher.
* Yingying Zhang
* Tu Youyou 屠呦呦 - a pharmaceutical chemist and educator. She is best known for discovering artemisinin (also known as qinghaosu) and dihydroartemisinin, used to treat malaria, which has saved millions of lives. For her work, Tu received the 2011 Lasker Award in clinical medicine and the 2015 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with William C. Campbell and Satoshi Ōmura.
* Yuan Tung-li 袁同礼 - former director of the National Library of China
* Mi Zhang - professor at Michigan State University
* Shaodong Guo - nutrition scientist, academic and diabetes researcher.
* Shaomin Li - sociologist, economist and academic

### In politics

* Hu Qili 胡启立 – Former members of the Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
* Bo Xilai 薄熙来 – Former Party Secretary General of Chongqing, Former Minister of Commerce, child of Bo Yibo
* Cai Wu 蔡武 – Minister of Culture
* Chen Duxiu 陈独秀 – founding member and leader in the Chinese Communist Party
* Deng Nan 邓楠 – Former Vice minister of the State Science and Technology Commission, child of Deng Xiaoping
* Deng Pufang 邓朴方 – founder and Chairman of China Disabled Persons' Federation, child of Deng Xiaoping
* Deng Zhongxia 邓中夏 – founding member and leader in the Chinese Communist Party
* Fang Lizhi 方励之 – Spiritual leader of the Tiananmen Protests in 1989
* Guo Gengmao 郭庚茂 – Governor of Henan Province
* Hu Chunhua 胡春华 – Youngest governor in China, former First Secretary of the Communist Youth League, member of Tuanpai
* Hu Deping 胡德平 – vice chairman of All-China General Chamber of Industry & Commerce Party, Secretary of National Association of Industry and Commerce, and vice minister of the Propaganda Department, child of Hu Yaobang
* Li Keqiang 李克强 – Premier of China, Politburo Standing Committee member, member of Tuanpai
* Li Yuanchao 李源潮 – Vice President of China, Politburo member, member of Tuanpai
* Lu Hao 陆昊 – First Secretary of Communist Youth League of China
* Meng Hongwei - Interpol-president (2016-2018), purportedly resigned in absentia after being secretly detained
* Mo Menchuan - Vice Chairperson of China National Democratic Construction Association
* Qiu Zhanxuan - undergraduate student at Peking University, head of Peking University Marxist Society.
* Renho - Taiwan-born Japanese politician
* Shen Tong 沈彤 – Author, Pro-democracy activist
* K. Natwar Singh – India politician
* Mulatu Teshome - President of Ethiopia (2013-2018).
* Wang Dan 王丹 – Leader of the Tiananmen protests in 1989
* Yuan Chunqing 袁纯清 – Governor of Shaanxi Province, Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party
* Yue Xin 岳昕 - feminist and Marxist activist, participant in The 2018 Jasic Incident.
* Zhang Guotao 张国焘 – founding member and leader in the Chinese Communist Party
* Sam Hou Fai 岑浩輝 – Chief Executive of Macau

### In business and media

Among the "top 300 richest in China" 27 graduated from Beida, much higher than any other Chinese university. The second ranking school is Zhejiang University, with 17 alumni on the list.
* Robin Li Yanhong – founder of Baidu.com
* Wang Xuan 王选 – founder of Founder Co.
* Wang Zhidong 王志东 – founder of Sina.com
* Yu Minhong 俞敏洪 – founder of New Oriental Education Group
* Peggy Yu 俞渝 – founder of dangdang.com, the largest online book retailor in Chinese language.
* Li Ning – Olympic gold medalist, founder of Li Ning Group
* Huang Nubo 黄怒波 – founder of Zhongkun Real Estate Group
* Yu Liang – CEO of China Vanke Group
* Shen Tong 沈彤 – American founder and president of VFinity
* Hou Yifan – chess player
* Ding Liren – chess player
* Lu Zhengyao – billionaire businessman, chairman of Luckin Coffee
* Raz Galor – Israeli social media figure active in China
* Avram Glazer – American executive Co-Chairman of Manchester United
* Ge Li 李革 – Chinese-American founder of WuXi AppTec
* Zhou Chengzhou – filmmaker and artist

## Other

Including honorary professors and other associates:
* Harold Acton - British scholar and aesthete
* Jin Mingri - pastor of Zion Church of Beijing
* Mao Zedong – library staff, leader of the Chinese Communist Party
* Shiing Shen Chern – Chinese-American 20th century mathematician